The presidential race has undergone a quick and major shift over the last month. President Joe Biden dropped out the race, and soon after endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
Democrat Harris is now running a short but energized campaign against Republican Donald Trump.
WUWM has been holding roundtable conversations with local voters since the spring. Through our election survey, WUWM learned that Wisconsinites want to hear from people with different political views. These roundtables are one way we're hoping to help people better understand each other.
And, Wisconsin is one of just a handful of swing states that could determine the presidential election — so we want to dig into what's driving voter sentiment.
On Aug. 27, five left-leaning Milwaukee-area voters joined us in our studios to talk about how they're feeling about Harris taking Biden's place as the Democratic nominee, and what issues are important to them this election.
The roundtable was moderated by WUWM's Maayan Silver and Audrey Nowakowski. Here are some of the takeaways we heard from the voters — and please note these are the individuals' personal opinions. Participants' answers may be edited for clarity and length.
Annalee Sepanski
Lives in: Racine
Age: 31
Occupation: Teacher
"It was kind of a gut punch when Joe [Biden] announced he would withdraw from the race. I was a bit sad, seeing how the media came at him for his age, when also looking at Donald Trump, who is also old. I felt the targeting of Joe was a bit unfair, considering both are not spring chickens here.
How I feel now about Kamala [Harris], I'm very happy to see how this campaign — it feels very alive. I'm excited to see how she gets people to the polls. I think she's done a remarkable job considering it's a quick turnaround.
Reproductive rights are my biggest thing. It's really interesting, a lot of the conservative talking points are 'We don't like big government.' And to me ... I don't like the fact that there's this overreach, limitation of the decisions I can make. That's been my top issue, and this election is no different.
The elephant in the room is the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. It's such a sensitive issue. [Harris] says she's going to support Israel, what does that look like? We say we're going to do things for Palestinians, what does that look like? I have my own personal feeling on Netanyahu as the leader of Israel and what that means for my Jewish values. What is that relationship going to be like? I would be interested to see if and when she wins, what is that going to look like specifically."
Nate Garry
Lives in: Milwaukee
Age: 43
Occupation: Entrepreneur
"Being a father of two young daughters, [a woman president] is no longer a theoretical something that they can achieve — it's in front of them. So I'm excited for that. I'm hopeful.
Biden was steady. Steady doesn't give us the opportunity to change things. I think with Kamala now, she brings a new focus, a new energy. But I do believe the succession plan should have been in place.
Reproductive rights is a hot button issue that I strongly feel, being a father of two daughters. Government shouldn't be in the exam room. It should be between you and your medical provider to make those decisions.
When we had Biden in office, people were tuned out. What we need is more people to be more involved, not less ... What's happened now is there's a lot more energy, a lot more conversations around the dinner table with family."
Debbie Patel
Lives in: River Hills
Age: 70
Occupation: Retired
"I was a Biden supporter. I actually thought he's been a remarkable president. But I acknowledge that he's not a young man, and that became very clear.
I feel that Harris and her campaign have really done everything right ... I love that they've made a big deal out of her laugh and that she does embrace joy, because we've seen such a dystopian world from the Republicans and Donald Trump. We have a right to feel joyous, we have a right to feel patriotic, we have a right to feel proud of our country. For me, it's been wonderful to see the outpouring of joy and laughter and enthusiasm.
I loved it when she chose Tim Walz. I happen to be from Minnesota, so I knew who he was, and he reminded me of my father.
My personal thing is that I think the economy is a pretty a big deal, and it continues to amaze me that the Republicans score better on that one ... because the economy has done better under Democrats. Because I think when you grow the middle class, everybody benefits."
Tynnetta Jackson
Lives in: Milwaukee
Age: 58
Occupation: Community activist, radio host
"Initially, I wasn't happy with Biden or Trump. I was a fan of Biden and voted for him in the last election. I was frustrated with him trying to run another term. The Democrats, they should have been more prepared to have a [different] candidate ready. The Democratic Party is reactive instead of proactive.
Now that Kamala is the candidate, I'm very hopeful. She's bringing some new ideas and new ways of thinking that I think is going to be good for the Democratic Party.
I talk to the community a lot, and what's really interesting for me is there's a lot of men who do not want a woman president. My message [to them] is: so do you want to live in a world of dictatorship or would you like to continue having your democracy and freedom?
I belong to an organization that almost everyone feels that they want more clear understanding of what [Harris is] going to do [about the war in Gaza]. That's why a lot of people voted Uninstructed. But what I have challenged them with is ... What do you think that picture is going to look like if Trump is in office?"
Sagar Tolani
Lives in: West Allis
Age: 39
Occupation: Teacher
"As someone who became a citizen in 2019, my first presidential election was 2020. It was like pick the worse of two evils. Sure, I'll vote for Biden because we can't have another Trump term.
This time around, I wasn't enthusiastic [about Biden]. Once Biden made the decision to step away and let Harris step in, as someone whose parents are Indian, I was excited for someone that is half Indian and a female and could be president of a country that's made of immigrants.
I think she did a very good job in picking Tim Walz as her vice presidential candidate because I feel like he's way more relatable [than Trump and Republican VP candidate Vance]. As a teacher, there were so many teacher memes that came out of [the Walz pick].
I have seen a downturn of our education system here, and now being inside it — we can do a whole lot better. But it has to start with investment in early childhood. We can see examples of it under the Tim Walz administration in Minnesota. I feel like we can do that nationally. It's going to take a whole generation of investment to turn our education system back around."
Xcaret Nuñez, Erin Bagatta, Ann-Elise Henzl, and Jason Rieve contributed to the planning and production of the voter roundtable.
